Customized 360-degree media viewing

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed including techniques for rendering a 360-degree media content. Techniques disclosed include receiving a 360-degree media content and associated metadata that include a classification of a first spatial region from the received content. Techniques disclosed further include determining that a detected user movement is associated with a rendering of the first spatial region and determining whether the classification associated with the first spatial region complies with a stored user preference. If the classification violates the user preference, a path for gradually shifting the content rendering from a currently rendered spatial region to a spatial region that complies with the user preference is determined, and the received content is rendered according to the determined path.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/753,691, filed Apr. 3, 2020, which is a National Stage Entry under 35U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/US2018/053939, filedOct. 2, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 62/691,316, filed Jun. 28, 2018, and of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 62/567,976, filed Oct. 4, 2017, the contents of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

360-degree video is an emerging and rapidly growing format in the mediaindustry, facilitated by the growing availability of virtual reality(VR) devices. Part of 360-degree video's appeal is its ability toprovide users with a dynamic viewing experience that provides a newsense of presence and increased control. In addition to being presentedwith high quality images via the display of a VR device, users cancontrol what they are viewing by, for example, turning to the left orright, just as they would in the physical world. VR devices may detectsuch movements and then adjust the video display to present users withthe view(s) that correspond to their physical movements. However,providing users with such an immersive viewing experience may pose newtechnical challenges when compared to rectilinear video, including howto further customize this dynamic video environment to accommodateusers' different backgrounds, interests and/or preferences while stillenabling the large amounts of data often associated with 360-degreevideo to be efficiently distributed via finite bandwidth resources.

SUMMARY

A device may be configured to render at least one spatial region of360-degree media content, which may include two or more spatial regions.The device may include a receiver configured to receive the 360-degreemedia content and metadata associated with the 360-degree content. Themetadata may include a classification of a spatial region of the360-degree media content. The device may further include a memoryconfigured to store a user preference and a sensor configured to detecta user movement. The device may include a processor configured todetermine that the user movement is associated with a rendering of therespective spatial region. The processor may further determine whetherthe classification of the spatial region complies with the userpreference and alter the rendering of the spatial region if theclassification violates the user preference. The processor may alter therendering via one or more of the following: by refraining from moving tothe respective spatial region; by changing to a rectilinear projectionformat; or by altering the rendering by changing an aspect of therespective spatial region, such as by zooming out on the spatial region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example portion of a 360-degree video displayed ona head mounted device (HMO).

FIG. 2 illustrates an example media presentation description (MPD) datamodel.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example content flow for an omnidirectional mediaapplication.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example multicast/broadcast architecture.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example 360-degree video with customizationmetadata.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example virtual reality (VR) content customizationarchitecture.

FIG. 7 illustrates a system diagram of an example client renderingdevice configured to customize content.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example zoom-out presentation.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example architecture for social VR environments.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example architecture for social VR environmentsconfigured for content customization.

FIG. 11A is a system diagram of an example communications system inwhich one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

FIG. 11B is a system diagram of an example wireless transmit/receiveunit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications systemillustrated in FIG. 11A.

FIG. 11C is a system diagram of an example radio access network (RAN)and an example core network (CN) that may be used within thecommunications system illustrated in FIG. 11A.

FIG. 11D is a system diagram of further example RAN and a furtherexample CN that may be used within the communications system illustratedin FIG. 11A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detailed description of illustrative embodiments will now be describedwith reference to the various Figures. Although this descriptionprovides a detailed example of possible implementations, it should benoted that the details are intended to be exemplary and in no way limitthe scope of the application.

FIG. 1 depicts a 360-degree video displayed on a head mounted device(HMO), which may include one or more sensors (not shown) for detecting auser's movements, such as the movement of the user's head. As seen inFIG. 1 , when viewing a 360-degree video, a user may be presented with aportion 100 of the video. The displayed portion 100 of the 360-degreevideo may be monoscopic, with one image directed to both eyes or, asshown in FIG. 1 , stereoscopic in which two distinct images (e.g.,images 102, 104) may be directed individually to each of the user'seyes. The displayed portion 100 may be changed when the user “looksaround” and/or zooms in or out of the image. For example, the displayedportion 100 of the video may move to the right if one of the HMD'ssensors detects that the user has turned her head to the right. Thedisplayed portion 100 of the video may also be changed based on feedbackprovided by the HMO and/or other types of user interfaces, such as awireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU). The displayed portion 100 of the360-degree video may correspond to a single spatial region of the videoor may include multiple spatial regions. The spatial region of the360-degree video being displayed, or any portion(s) thereof, may bereferred to as a viewport. The viewport may be presented, in full or inpart, to the user. The presented viewport may have different qualitiesthan other parts, or viewports, of the 360-degree video.

HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) streaming has become a dominantapproach in commercial deployments. For instance, streaming platformssuch as Apple's HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), Microsoft's Smooth Streaming(SS), and/or Adobe's HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HOS) may use HTTP streamingas an underlying video-delivery method. A standard for HTTP streaming ofmultimedia content may allow a standard-based client (e.g., a HMO) tostream content from any standard-based server, thereby enablinginteroperability between servers and clients of different vendors. TheMoving Picture Experts Group's (MPEG) Dynamic Adaptive Streaming overHTTP (MPEG-DASH) may be a universal delivery format that may provide endusers with the best possible video experience by dynamically adapting tochanging network conditions. DASH may be built on top of the ubiquitousHTTP/TCP/IP stack. DASH may define a manifest format, Media PresentationDescription (MPD), and segment formats for ISO Base Media File Formatand MPEG-2 Transport Streams.

Dynamic HTTP streaming may need various bit rate alternatives of aparticular multimedia content to be available at a server. Themultimedia content may include several media components, such as audio,video and text, and the media components may have differentcharacteristics. In the case of MPEG-DASH, the characteristics may bedescribed by MPD.

The MPD may be an extensible Markup Language (XML) document, which mayinclude metadata for a DASH client to construct appropriate HTTP-URLs toaccess video segments in an adaptive manner during streaming sessions.FIG. 2 depicts an example MPD hierarchical data model. The MPD maydescribe a sequence of Periods, such as Periods 1, 2 and 3 shown in FIG.2 . Within a particular Period, such as Period 2, there may be aconsistent set of encoded versions of the media content. Each of thePeriods 1, 2 and 3 may have a starting time and a duration. Each of thePeriods 1, 2 and 3 may be composed of one or more AdaptationSets, suchas AS 0, AS 1 and AS 2 in FIG. 2 . In an embodiment, a DASH streamingclient may be a WTRU as described below in connection with FIGS.11A-11D.

An AdaptationSet may represent a set of encoded versions of one orseveral media content components sharing one or more identicalproperties, which may include language, media type, picture aspectratio, role, accessibility, viewpoint, and/or rating property. Forinstance, the AdaptationSet may include different bitrates for the videocomponent of the same multimedia content. The AdaptationSet may includedifferent bitrates for the audio component (e.g., lower quality stereoand/or higher quality surround sound) of the same multimedia content.The AdaptationSet, such as AS 1 shown in FIG. 2 , may include multipleRepresentations, such as Representations 1, 2, 3 and 4 also shown inFIG. 2 .

A Representation may describe a deliverable encoded version of one orseveral media components, varying from other representations by bitrate,resolution, number of channels, and/or other characteristics. Arepresentation may include one or more segments. Attributes of aRepresentation element (e.g., @id, @bandwidth, @qualityRanking, and@dependencyld) may be used to specify one or more properties of theassociated Representation.

A Representation, such as Representation 2 shown in FIG. 2 , may includeSegment Info, which may further include an Initialization Segment andone or more Media Segments (e.g., Media Segments 1, 2, 3 and 4). TheInitialization Segment and/or Media Segment may be retrieved with a HTTPrequest. The Initialization Segment and/or Media Segment may have a URL,such as an addressable location on a server, and/or may be downloadedusing HTTP GET or HTTP GET with byte ranges.

A DASH client may parse an MPD XML document. The DASH client may selecta collection of AdaptationSets suitable for its environment, forexample, based on the AdaptationSets' elements. Within an AdaptationSet,the client may select a Representation. The client may select theRepresentation, for example, based on the value of @bandwidth attribute,client decoding capabilities, and/or client rendering capabilities.

The client may download an initialization segment of the selectedRepresentation. The client may access content, such as by requestingentire Media Segments or byte ranges of Media Segments. When thepresentation has started, the client may continue consuming the mediacontent. For example, the client may request (e.g., continuouslyrequest) Media Segments and/or parts of Media Segments during thepresentation. The client may play content according to a mediapresentation timeline. The client may switch from a first Representation(e.g., Representation 1) to a second Representation (e.g.,Representation 2), based on updated information from the client'senvironment. The client may play the content continuously across two ormore Periods. When the client consumes media (e.g., renders the mediafor a user to view) contained in the Media Segments towards the end ofthe announced media in the Representation, the media presentation may beterminated, a Period may be started, and/or the MPD may be re-fetched.

The MPD descriptor element, Descriptor, may be provided to theapplication. The Descriptor may describe elements with the appropriatescheme information. Some specific Descriptors (e.g., content protection,role, accessibility, rating, viewpoint, frame packing, and UTC timingdescriptor) may contain a @schemeldUri attribute, perhaps to identifythe relative scheme.

The MPD supplemental property descriptor element, SupplementalProperty,may contain metadata that may be used by the DASH client, perhaps tooptimize processing.

The MPD essential property descriptor element, EssentialProperty, maycontain metadata, perhaps for processing the containing element.

In omnidirectional application media format (OMAF), the followingaspects may be defined: equirectangular projection format, metadata forinteroperable rendering of 360-degree monoscopic and stereoscopicaudio-visual data, storage format (e.g., ISO-base media file format(ISOBMFF)), and/or codecs (e.g., High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) andMPEG-H 3D audio). FIG. 3 illustrates an example content flow 300 for anomnidirectional media application.

As shown in FIG. 3 , at step A an audio-visual scene may be captured byaudio sensors, cameras, and/or a camera device with multiple lenses andsensors, which may result in a set of digital images/video and audiosignals. The cameras and/or lenses may cover some or all directionsaround the center point of the camera set and/or camera device. For360-degree video, input images of a time instance may be stitched atstep Bi to generate a projected picture representing a view. Theprojected picture may cover part of the 360-degree content. Region-wisepacking may also be applied at step Bi, perhaps to map the projectedpicture onto a packed picture. The stitched images may be encoded ascoded images and/or a coded video bitstream at step D. The capturedaudio may be encoded as an audio bitstream at step Ba. At steps Ea, Evand Ei, the coded images, video, and/or audio may be composed into amedia file for file playback, or in a sequence of initializationsegments and media segments for streaming, according to an example mediacontainer file format. The media container file format may be ISO basemedia file format (ISOBMFF). The file encapsulator may include metadataon the file and/or the segments (e.g., projection and region-wisepacking information), which may assist in rendering the decoded packedpictures.

After delivery and/or during playback via a client: the file or sequenceof segments may be decapsulated (steps F′, F's); the audio, video and/orimages may be decoded (steps E′a, E′v, E′i); and the audio and/or imagesmay be rendered (steps B′a, D′) via loudspeakers/headphones and/or adisplay (steps A′a, A′i).

Example metadata may include the projection format of the projectedpicture, fisheye video parameters, the area of the spherical surfacecovered by the projected picture, the orientation of the projectionstructure corresponding to the projected picture relative to the globalcoordinate axes, region-wise packing information, and/or region-wisequality ranking.

An example RegionOnSphereSample metadata structure may include:

aligned(S) RegionOnSphereStruct(range_included_flag) {  signed int(32)center_yaw;  signed int(32) center_pitch;  singed int(32) center_roll; if (range_included_flag) {   unsigned int(32) hor_range;   unsignedint(32) ver_range;  }  unsigned int(l) interpolate;  bit(7) reserved= 0;} aligned(S) RegionOnSphereSample( ) {  for (i = 0; i < num_regions;i++)   RegionOnSphereStruct(dynamic range_flag); }

As described herein, RegionOnSphereStructure and SphereRegionStructuremay be used interchangeably, and RegionOnSphereSample andSphereRegionSample may be used interchangeably.

Timed metadata may be described for a region, such as a sphericalregion. A timed metadata track may be indicated by a track sample entrytype. For example, a track may be used to indicate a timed sequence ofrelated samples. A timed metadata track may be used to indicate a timedsequence of metadata samples. An example SphereRegionSampleEntry and/orSphereRegionConfigBox may include:

class SphereRegionSampleEntry(type) extends MetaDataSampleEntry(type) { SphereRegionConfigBox( ); // mandatory  Box[ ] other boxes; // optional} class SphereRegionConfigBox extends FullBox(‘rosc’, 0, 0) {  unsignedint(S) shape_type;  bit(7) reserved = 0;  unsigned int(l) dynamic_rangeflag;  if (dynamic_range_flag == 0) {   unsigned int(32)static_azimuth_range;   unsigned int(32) static_elevation_range;  } unsigned int(S) num_regions; }

A timed metadata type may include a recommended viewport. Therecommended viewport may indicate a viewport, which may be displayed,for example, when a user (e.g., and/or client) does not have and/or hasreleased control of the content (e.g., control of the viewingorientation). Table 1 illustrates an exemplary list of viewport typevalues. As seen in Table 1, recommended viewports may be indicated byvalues of 0 and/or 1. For example, when a client (e.g., and/or user)releases control of the viewing orientation and selects a viewport type0, a viewport as suggested by the content provider and/or contentcreator (e.g., a first recommended viewport) may be displayed to theuser during the playback. When the client selects viewport type 1, themost popular viewport (e.g., a second recommended viewport) may bedisplayed to the user during the playback.

TABLE 1 Viewport Type Value Description 0 A recommended viewport per thedirector's cut, e.g., a viewport suggested according to the creativeintent of the content author or content provider 1 A recommendedviewport selected based on measurements of viewing statistics  2-239Reserved (e.g., for use by future extensions of ISO/IEC 23090-2) 240-255Unspecified (e.g., for use by applications or external specifications)

In rectilinear video, elements of a video or scene may be arranged infront of the camera, perhaps based on a composition chosen by thedirector and/or based on the story the director wants to present to aviewer. As such, the viewer may view the video (e.g., the sequence ofscenes and audio) in the manner chosen by the creator. The rectilinearvideo content may be post-edited to comply with certain regulations,such as programming ratings, restrictions and/or the cultural needs ofviewers. For example, the video may be edited by removing certainlanguage fragments or scenes, muting audio, inserting blackouts,blurring certain parts of the scene and the like. Viewers may thenexperience or view the post-edited version of the rectilinear video.Accordingly, numerous versions of the same content may be produced,perhaps to match the content in accordance with the varying rules,restrictions and/or preferences that may be associated with differentuser groups and/or geographical regions.

In 360-degree video, viewers may view different portions of the contentby looking in different directions, such as by moving their heads indifferent directions at various temporal points in the video.Post-editing of a 360-degree video may be performed for any viewportpermutation. For example, a young viewer watching 360-degree content mayview a presentation that has a suitable rating for young viewers, suchas PG-13, while an adult may view an R-rated or unrated presentation ofthe same content. This may be referred to content customization.

Content ratings may include any suitable system for classifying contentfor relevant viewers and/or audiences. For example, the Motion PictureAssociation of America (MPAA) utilizes a film rating system to rate thesuitability of a movie for certain audiences based on the movie'scontent. The MPAA rating system may include G (general audiences), PG(parental guidance suggested), PG-13 (parents strongly cautioned), R(restricted), and/or NC-17 (adults only). AG rating may mean that thecontent is suitable for all ages and that nothing would offend parentsfor viewing by children. A PG rating may mean that some material may notbe suitable for children and that parents are urged to give “parentalguidance” as the movie may contain some material they may not like fortheir young children to view. A PG-13 rating may mean that some materialmay be inappropriate for children under 13 and that parents are urged tobe cautious. An R rating may mean that anyone under 17 should beaccompanied by a parent or adult guardian as the movie may contain someadult material. An R rating may further urge parents to learn more aboutthe film before taking their children to view the movie. An NC-17 ratingmay mean that the movie includes some content that is not suitableanyone 17 or under.

Content ratings may include TV Parental Guidelines, which may classifythe content of television shows. The TV Parental Guidelines ratings mayinclude TV-Y (all children), TV-Y7 (older children), TV-Y7-FV (olderchildren—fantasy violence), TV-G (general audiences), TV-PG (parentalguidance suggested), TV-14 (parents strongly cautioned), and/or TV-MA(mature audiences only). The TV-Y rating may mean that the program isdesigned to be appropriate for all children. The TV-Y7 rating may meanthat the program is designed for children age 7 and above. The TV-Y7-FVrating may mean that the program includes fantasy violence that may bemore intense or more combative than other programs in the TV-Y7category. The TV-G rating may mean that most parents would find theprogram suitable for all ages. The TV-PG rating may mean that theprogram includes material that parents may find unsuitable for youngerchildren. The TV-14 rating may mean that the program includes somematerial that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14years of age. The TV-MA rating may mean that the program is specificallydesigned to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable forchildren under 17.

It will be appreciated that the MPAA and TV Parental Guidelines areexamples of content rating systems and that other types of contentclassifications may be utilized in the disclosed embodiments.

In an embodiment, 360-degree media content may be multicast/broadcast inan unedited form (e.g., with all the possible viewports). A clientdevice, such as a WTRU or HMO, may render the content appropriatelyaccording to a viewer's preferences. This may be referred to as dynamiccontent customization. In addition to, or in lieu of, being implementedin the client device, dynamic content customization may be implementedin the cloud, at a network edge, and/or in a home gateway device.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example architecture 400 for a videomulticast/broadcast environment. The architecture 400 may include acontent server 402, which may store multimedia content such as360-degree videos. The architecture 400 may further include a network404, which may be any type of wired or wireless network forcommunicating data, including multimedia content. In an embodiment, thenetwork 404 may include a base station, a RAN, a core network, theInternet, an Intranet, and/or a public switch telephone network (PSTN)as described below in connection with FIGS. 11A-11O. As further shown inFIG. 4 , the network 404 may be in communication with an edge server406, which may be in communication with HMOs 408 a, 408 b, 408 c. Thenetwork 404 may be in further communication with HMOs 410 a, 41Ob, aWTRU 412, and/or a display unit 414.

In the example architecture 400, one or more viewports of 360-degreecontent stored on the content server 402 may be broadcast/multicast tomultiple rendering devices, such as the HMOs 408 a, 408 b, 408 c, 410 a,41Ob, the WTRU 412, and/or the display unit 414. The viewports maycorrespond to the same version of the content. For example, as shown inFIG. 4 , viewers may watch the G-rated version of the content, which maybe suitable for all audiences regardless of age.

Viewers may be able to change their respective viewport at any time viatheir respective rendering device, such as by making head movements thatcan be detected by the HMO 410 a, for example. Viewers may have acustomized virtual reality (VR) experience if a content source wascapable of custom-tailoring content for viewers. For example, a contentand/or service provider may provide cues intended to direct viewers toone or more desired viewports (e.g., a director's cut). Viewers mayelect to view the director's cut, or other viewports. It will beappreciated that one or more of the viewers' preferences may changeduring a viewing session. As such, the backend system (e.g., the contentserver 402 and/or the network 404) may react to changes in viewingpreferences so the cues are updated accordingly. Viewers may viewviewports based on their respective ages, background, culture, presentenvironment, present emotions, and the like. For example, a young viewermay use the HMO 408 c to view a PG-13-rated version of the 360-degreecontent on the content server 402 while an adult viewer may use the HMO41Ob to view an R-rated version of the content. Other viewers may, forexample, view a version of the content where no use of tobacco andalcohol is shown and/or a version of the content that is devoid ofvulgar language, which may have been removed based on a preselected listof vulgar words.

A customized VR experience may be provided by defining one or morecontent classifications of features that may exist in the 360-degreecontent. The features may be audio and/or video features (e.g., vulgaror offensive words and/or scenes with violence, substance abuse, nudity,sexual content, etc.). The 360-degree content may be analyzed for thedelineated features. Metadata may be generated to includeclassifications to define or classify the features, their spatiallocation(s) and/or timing(s). The metadata may be stored and transmittedin a timed metadata track and/or a lookup table.

Table 2 illustrates example metadata for customizing 360-degree and/orVR content according to one or more content classifications, which mayinclude content ratings, rating values and/or rating systems. The ratingmetadata may be structured such that, for a given rating value, videoviewports and/or audio channels along the timeline sharing the samerating value may be specified. The viewports may specify a genericbackground area, (e.g., a non-viewport area) that may be associated witha default rating value.

TABLE 2 Example customization rating metadata Key Type DescriptionRegionCode list List of regions or countries RatingSystem list List ofrating systems Rating Array The rating parameter VideoViewport viewportThe region associated with the rating AudioChannel Integer Audio channelassociated with the rating

RegionCode may specify the region or country in which the metadataapplies. RatingSystem may specify the standard rating system utilized inthe metadata (e.g., Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) filmrating system, Canadian Home Video Rating system, TV Parentalguidelines, etc.). Rating may specify the rating value, such as G, PG,PG-13 or R defined by MPAA, or TV-Y, TV-Y7. TV-G or TV-MA defined by TVParental Guidelines. VideoViewport may specify the viewport or spatialregion of the content associated with the rating value. The position andsize of the viewport may be defined by viewport data type, which mayinclude parameters such as center_yaw, center_pitch, center_roll,static_hor_range, static_ver_range, hor_range and/or ver_range).AudioChannel may specify the audio channel associated with the rating.

A viewport may include additional camera positions and/or coordinates,such as x, y, and z. Table 3 illustrates an example viewport formatdefinition.

TABLE 3 Example viewport format definition Key Type Description viewportViewport List of viewport view measurements during playout. center_yawInteger yaw coordinate of the center of the viewport center_pitchInteger pitch coordinate of the center of the viewport center_rollInteger roll coordinate of the center of the viewport static_hor_rangeInteger horizontal range of the viewport region static_ver_range Integervertical range of the viewport region center_x Integer x coordinate ofthe center of the sphere (camera position). center_y Integer ycoordinate of the center of the sphere (camera position). center_zInteger z coordinate of the center of the sphere (camera position).

Table 4 illustrates an example syntax for a rating customizationmetadata. The syntax may incorporate six degrees of freedom (6DoF)properties or coordinates. The 6DoFSample structure in Table 4 may besimilar to the syntax elements defined in Table 3. A syntax flag,6dof_included_flag, may be defined to indicate whether the rigid body orcamera position is signaled in addition to three degrees of freedom(3DoF) coordinates.

TABLE 4 Example customization rating metadata syntax aligned(S)6DoFSample(range_included_flag, 6dof_included_flag) { RegionOnSphereStructure(range_ included_flag);  if (6dof_included_flag){   signed int(32) center x;   signed int(32) center_y;   singed int(32)center z;  } } aligned(S) RatingSample( ) {  unsigned int(32) entry; for (i = 0; i < entry; i++){   unsigned int(32) RegionCode;   unsignedint(32) RatingSystem;   unsigned int(32) Rating;   unsigned int(32)6DoF;   for (j = 0; j < 6DoF; j++)    6DoFSample(6dof_included_flag);  unsigned int(32) AudioChannels;   for (j = 0; j < AudioChannels; j++)   unsigned int(32) AudioChannelid;  } }

The entry syntax in Table 4 may specify the number of rating entriesincluded in RatingSample. RegionCode may specify the region or countrycode. RatingSystem may specify the standard rating system the metadatacomplied with (e.g., MPAA, Canadian Home Video Rating system, TVParental guidelines, etc.). Rating may specify a rating value (e.g., G,PG, PG-13 or R defined by MPAA, and/or TV-Y, TV-Y7. TV-G or TV-MAdefined by TV Parental Guidelines). 6DoF may specify the number of 6DoFviewports associated with Rating. AudioChannels may specify the numberof audio channels associated with Rating. AudioChannelld may specify theidentifier of the audio channel.

Rating metadata may be defined for a viewport (e.g., per viewport), suchas by way of the rating metadata structure shown in Table 5. Forexample, rating metadata may be specified for a viewport (e.g., perviewport).

TABLE 5 Example rating metadata sample syntax aligned(S) RatingSample( ){  unsigned int(32) 6DoF;  for (i = 0; i < 6DoF; i++){   unsignedint(32) RegionCode;   unsigned int(32) RatingSystem;   unsigned int(32)Rating;   6DoFSample(6dof_included_flag);   unsigned int(32)AudioChannels;   for (j = 0; j < AudioChannels; j++)    unsigned int(32)AudioChannelid;  } }

FIG. 5 illustrates a displayed portion 500 of a video presentation withviewports 502, 504, 506. As seen in FIG. 5 , the viewports 502, 504, 506may each have a content rating. The viewport 502 may depict a scene withviolence (e.g., zombies). As such, based upon an evaluation of suitableaudiences, the viewport 502 may be assigned a content rating of R (orRestricted). The viewport 504 may also depict a scene with violence,although the level of violence may be deemed less severe (e.g., an imageof someone pointing a gun). As such, the viewport 504 may be assigned acontent rating of PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned). The remainingportions of the display 500 (e.g., the viewport 506) may include imagesor content that is suitable for all viewers. As such, the viewport 506may be assigned a content rating of G (General Audiences). As furthershown in FIG. 5 , the time associated with the ratings of the displayedportion 500 may be from 1:20:30 to 1:21:10.

An example value of a 3DoF or a 6DoF structure may be used to indicate ageneric background instead of a specific viewport. This may be done, forexample, by assigning a NULL value to the RegionOnSphereStructure( )and/or center_x/center_y/center_z values. A NULL value may indicate a R.A RatingSample may be associated with a generic background area as thedefault rating of the content. As seen in FIG. 5 , the genericbackground (e.g., the viewport 506) may have a default rating of G. If,for example, the viewer attempts to view the viewport 504 or theviewport 502 (in which case rating may be PG-13 or R, respectively), Gmay be applied as the default rating.

Metadata may be used to label a media chunk for its features. A mediachunk may be a small piece of audio/video content that may betransmitted/consumed, e.g., independently. Labeling may be a scheme(e.g., bit marking) that may, for example, use SEI messaging and/orout-of-band signaling. The labels may be consumed by downstream elements(e.g., a cloud service, edge servers, home gateways, etc.) or renderingdevices (e.g., HMDs, WTRUs, etc.). The downstream elements or renderingdevices may process the labeled media chunks to render them inaccordance with viewer preferences. Metadata may be transmitteddownstream in a timed metadata track. Downstream elements or renderingdevices may consume the metadata and process it, e.g., according toviewer preferences.

Metadata may be generated by a content producer and may be mapped to amanifest file (e.g., DASH MPD) for video streaming. The classification(e.g., a rating value) of a viewport and/or audio channel may besignaled in MPD elements (e.g., EssentialProperty orSupplementalProperty) for the corresponding viewport representation(e.g., a tile segment). Table 6 illustrates an example MPD file usingrating customization. The EssentialProperty descriptor with a@schemeldUri attribute equal to “urn:mpeg:dash:scheme:rating” may signalthe rating of each tile representation. As seen in Table 6, a viewportmay be rated R, PG-13, and/or G. If, for example, a customization policysupports General Audiences (G), a matching viewport tile may bepresented. Viewport segments that do not match or comply with the Grating (such as representations 1, 2, and/or 3 in Table 6) may beblurred, skipped, and/or may not be requested by the rendering device.

TABLE 6 Example MPD with rating customization <?xml version=“l.O”encoding=“UTF-8”?> <MPDxmlns:xsi=“http://www.w3.org/200l/XMLSchema-instance”xmlns=“urn:mpeg:dash:schema:mpd:2011”xsi:schemaLocation=“urn:mpeg:dash:schema:mpd:2011 DASH-MPD.xsd” [ ...l > <Period>  <!-9 tiles-->  <AdaptationSet [...] >   <EssentialPropertyschemeidUri=“urn:mpeg:dash:srd:2014”   value=“l, 0, 0, 1920, 1080, 5760,3240”/>   <EssentialProperty schemeidUri=“urn:mpeg:dash:rating”  value=“R”>   <Representation id=“l” bandwidth=“S000000”>   <BaseURL>tilel.mp4</BaseURL>   </Representation>  </AdaptationSet> <AdaptationSet [...] >   <EssentialPropertyschemeidUri=“urn:mpeg:dash:srd:2014”   value=“l, 1920, 0, 1920, 1080”/>  <EssentialProperty schemeidUri=“urn:mpeg:dash:rating”   value=“PG-13”>  <Representation id=“2” bandwidth=“S000000”>   <BaseURL>tile2.mp4</BaseURL>   </Representation>  </AdaptationSet> <AdaptationSet [...] >   <EssentialPropertyschemeidUri=“urn:mpeg:dash:srd:2014”   value=“l, 3840, 0, 1920, 1080”/>  <EssentialProperty schemeidUri=“urn:mpeg:dash:rating”   value=“PG-13”>  <Representation id=“3” bandwidth=“S000000”>   <BaseURL>tile3.mp4</BaseURL>   </Representation>  </AdaptationSet> <AdaptationSet [...] >   <EssentialPropertyschemeidUri=“urn:mpeg:dash:srd:2014”   value=“l, 0, 1080, 1920, 1080”/>  <EssentialProperty schemeidUri=“urn:mpeg:dash:rating”   value=“G”>  <Representation id=“4” bandwidth=“S000000”>   <BaseURL>tile4.mp4</BaseURL>   </Representation>  </AdaptationSet> <AdaptationSet [...] >   <EssentialPropertyschemeidUri=“urn:mpeg:dash:srd:2014”   value=“l, 3840, 2160, 1920,1080”/>   <EssentialProperty schemeidUri=“urn:mpeg:dash:rating”  value=“G”>   <Representation id=“9” bandwidth=“S000000”>   <BaseURL>tile9.mp4</BaseURL>   </Representation>  </AdaptationSet></Period> </MPD>

Video content may change over time. As such, the classification and/orrating of a spatial region within a 360-degree video may change overtime. One or more timed metadata track types may be specified to accountfor changes in a video's content over time, such as initial viewingorientation, recommended viewport, viewpoints, and/or timed text spherelocation. Additional timed metadata tracks may be used and/or defined.For example, a timed metadata track type may be used to indicate aclassification and rating viewport track, which may indicate a viewportthat matches a user's classification and/or rating selection orpreference. A SphereRegionSampleEntry type, CrvpSampleEntry, mayindicate a defined timed metadata track. As illustrated herein, a sphereregion classification and rating timed metadata track may be indicatedby the track sample entry type, “crvp,” and/or may include:

class CrvpSampleEntry( ) extends SphereRegionSampleEntry(‘crvp’) { unsigned int(S) region_code;  unsigned_int(S) rating_system_code; string default_rating_label; // optional }

The parameter region_code may be used to indicate the region and/orcountries associated with the classification and rating track. Theparameter rating_system_code may be used to indicate an index associatedwith a pre-defined content rating system list, which may be associatedwith the classification and rating track. The parameterdefault_rating_label may be used to indicate the default rating label ofa region (e.g., all regions). When a default_rating_label is notpresent, the default rating label may be set to “not rated”, which mayindicate the content is suitable for all audience (e.g., G for GeneralAudience).

An exemplary format of a classification and rating viewport timedmetadata track may include:

class CrvpSample ( ) extends SphereRegionSample( ) {  for (i=O; i <num_regions; i++)   string rating_label;  string remaining_region_ratinglabel; // optional }

The parameter rating_label may be used to indicate the rating labelassociated with a region (e.g., a region specified bySphereRegionStruct). A parameter rating_index, which may be an integerdata type, may indicate an index associated with (e.g., an index of avalue within) a pre-defined list of classification and rating labels.The parameter remaining_region_rating_label may indicate the ratinglabel associated with a region not specified by SphereRegionSample. Forexample, when the remaining_region_rating_label is not present, therating label for regions not specified by SphereRegionSample may be setto “not rated”, which may indicate the content is suitable for allaudience (e.g., G for General Audience).

CrvpSample may include a same rating flag, which may indicate theregions (e.g., all regions of the sample) share the same rating. Forexample, when the same rating flag is set to one, a shared rating labelmay be specified accordingly. CrvpSample may signal (e.g., mayalternatively signal) an index of regions assigned the same rating label(e.g., in case multiple regions share the same rating label, which maysave transmission overhead). For example, rating label signaling mayinclude an index associated with (e.g., an index of a value within) apre-defined list of classification and rating labels.

In the event the rating of a current viewport does not match a user'spreferred rating, (e.g., a rating violation), the client device maycustomize the viewport presentation by, for example, blurring thecurrent viewport's content and/or adding a mosaic effect over thecurrent viewport's content to prevent the content from being seen by theviewer. The client may customize the viewport by presenting a viewport(e.g., the closest or most relevant viewport to the current viewport)that matches the user's preferred rating. This may be done by rotatingthe rendering coordinates. This may be done regardless of the viewer'sviewing orientation.

A client device may parse the timed metadata of future content using,for example, a predefined look-ahead window. In particular, the clientmay parse the timed metadata of future content to determine whether thecurrent viewport's future content matches the user's preferred rating toidentify a potential rating violation. In anticipation of a ratingviolation (e.g., a violation in future content), the client maygradually shift the presentation from the current viewport's content tothe content of another viewport (e.g., a neighboring viewport thatmatches the user's preferred rating). For example, the client maydetermine or calculate a path for gradually shifting the presentation inanticipation of a rating violation. The client may move the viewport'scoordinates along the determined path. The determined path may be basedon the distance between the two viewports, the change in viewingorientation, and/or the amount of time until the rating violation willoccur. The transition speed of the gradual shift in presentation (e.g.,from the current viewport to a neighboring viewport that matches theuser's preferred rating) may also be based on the distance between thetwo viewports, the change in viewing orientation, and/or the amount oftime until the rating violation will occur.

A recommended viewport track may be provided to a client device and/oruser. For example, the recommended viewport track may allow the user toview certain content that most users watched. For example, recommendedviewports may include a director's cut and/or may be based on ameasurement of viewing statistics. Recommended viewport types may bedefined based on the classification and/or rating of viewport content.Table 7 illustrates an exemplary list of recommended viewport typesvalues and their accompanying descriptions. As described herein, thecontent rating system and/or rating value may be indicated in theviewport description field of RcvplnfoBox.

TABLE 7 Viewport Type Value Description 0 A recommended viewport per thedirector's cut, e.g., a viewport suggested according to the creativeintent of the content author or content provider 1 A recommendedviewport selected based on measurements of viewing statistics 2 Arecommended viewport per the content classification and rating.  3 . . .239 Reserved (e.g., for use by future extensions of ISO/IEC 23090-2) 240. . . 255 Unspecified (e.g., for use by applications or externalspecifications)

An RcvplnfoBox structure may be used to indicate the content ratingsystem and/or the associated rating value. A box type,ClassificationRatingBox, may include:

class ClassificationRatingBox extends FullBox(‘crif’, 0, 0) {  unsignedint(S) region_code;  unsigned int(S) rating_system_code;  unsignedint(S) rating_index; }

As described herein, the ClassificationRatingBox box may be included inthe RcvplnfoBox for the recommended viewport type. For example, theRcvplnfoBox may include:

class RcvpinfoBox extends FullBox(‘rvif’, 0, 0) {  unsigned int(S)viewport_type;  string viewport_description;  ClassificationRatingBox;// optional }

As described herein, when a user accepts the recommended classificationand/or rating viewport for a given rating, the client may render thespecified viewport of a viewpoint based on the timed metadata track,e.g., regardless of user's viewing orientation.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example multicasUbroadcast architecture 600 forthe customization of 360-degree video and/or VR content. In anembodiment, the architecture 600 may include a content server 602 forstoring the 360-degree video. The content server 602 may also storemetadata associated with the 360-degree video. The metadata may includerating information related to the video. The rating information may beassociated with specific spatial regions, viewports and/or media chunkswithin the 360-degree video. For example, one or more viewports in thevideo may include a content rating of G, P-13, R and/or NC-17. The videoand corresponding metadata may be provided to a network 604, which maybe any type of wired or wireless network for communicating data, such asthe 360-degree video. The network 604 may include a base station, a RAN,a core network, the Internet, an Intranet, and/or a public switchtelephone network (PSTN) as described below in connection with FIGS.11A-11D.

The network 604 may be in communication with an edge server 606, whichmay receive the 360-degree video and corresponding metadata from thenetwork 604. The edge server 606 may process the content based on therating information included in the metadata and based on user profilesor preferences, which may be stored in the edge server 606. For example,if the 360-degree video provided from the content server 602 includesviewports with a content rating of R and NC-17 and a user profileindicates that a viewer associated with the edge server 606 is under theage of seventeen, the edge server 606 may alter the viewports with the Rand NC-17 ratings. The alterations by the edge server 606 may have theeffect of changing the content rating of the 360-degree video. Forexample, the video may have a content rating of PG-13 post-processing bythe edge server 606. The edge server 606 may then broadcast thecustomized PG-13 video to one or more rendering devices, such as HMDs608 a, 608 b, 608 c shown in FIG. 6 .

Other rendering devices may receive the 360-degree video directly fromthe network 604. For example, the network 604 may be in communicationwith HMDs 610 a, 610 b, a WTRU 612 and/or a display unit 614. As such,the HMDs, 610 a, 610 b, the WTRU 612 and/or the display unit 614 mayreceive the 360-degree video and customize it according to one or moreuser profiles and preferences. For example, a user of the HMO 610 b maybe over the age of seventeen and may, therefore, prefer to view the360-degree video in its original form from the content server 602. Assuch, the HMO 610 b may not perform any processing on, or make anyalterations to, the viewports in the 360-degree video that have beenassigned R or NC-17 content ratings.

Other users' profiles or preferences may indicate a different contentrating, such as R or G. For example, a user of the HMO 610 a may have aprofile that indicates NC-17 content is not suitable for the user. Assuch, the HMO 610 a may alter the viewport(s) with the NC-17 rating,which may have the effect of changing the content rating of the360-degree video rendered by the HMO 610 a to R. Users of the WTRU 612and the display units 614 may have respective profiles that indicateonly G-rated content is suitable for the users. Accordingly, the WTRU612 and the display unit 614 may alter the viewport(s) with PG-13,Rand/or NC-17 ratings, which may have the effect of changing the contentrating of the 360-degree video rendered by the WTRU 612 and the displayunit 614 to G.

The rendering devices shown in FIG. 6 (e.g., the HMDs 608 a, 608 b, 608c, 610 a, 610 b, the WTRU 612 and/or the display unit 614) may includebiometric verification capabilities, such as touch ID, face ID, irisscanner, and the like. The rendering devices may be utilized by multipleusers, and, may store multiple user profiles and/or user preferencestherein. In the event a respective user attempts to render the360-degree video via one of the rendering devices, such as the HMO 61Ob,for example, the biometric verification capabilities of the device maybe used to identify the user and link to or otherwise access that user'srespective personal profile and/or preferences.

FIG. 7 illustrates a system diagram of an example client renderingdevice 700 that is configured to customize content, such as 360-degreevideos and/or VR content. The client rendering device 700 may include amedia decoder 702, a customization module 704, a post-processing module706, a customization policy 708, and a presentation module 710. Themedia decoder 702 of the device 700 may receive a media streamassociated with a 360-degree video and decode the media stream intomedia samples, media segments, and/or sample regions. The customizationmodule 704 may receive metadata associated with the media stream (e.g.,the 360-degree video). The metadata may include content ratinginformation associated with the media stream, including the mediasamples, segments, and/or regions. The customization module 704 maycompare the rating information with a customization policy, which may bestored in the customization policy module 708. The customization policymay be defined based on a user's preferences, which may include a user'sprofile (e.g., the age of the user) and/or any information indicative ofthe type of content that is preferred by or suitable for the user. Therating information in the metadata may indicate the rating(s) of frames,segments, periods of content, spatial regions, and/or viewports within atime duration. The rating information in the metadata may also describeaudio and/or video contents. Using the received metadata and thecustomization policy, the customization module 704 may direct or controla post-processing module 708, which may be configured to process and/oralter the received media samples, media segments, and/or sample regionsto customize the 360-degree video and to ensure the customized videocomplies with the customization policy. The customized 360-degree videomay then be rendered via the presentation module 710, which may includeany suitable interface for displaying scenes or images of the customized360-degree video.

It will be appreciated that the customization policy may be updatedafter any suitable period or on an as-needed basis. For example, if thecustomization policy is defined in accordance with the location of theuser, the customization may be updated after the user moves to anotherlocation. As such, the user may be able to view different portions ofthe 360-degree video based on her location, which may be based on, orinfluenced by, local rules and regulations. The customization policy mayalso be periodically or aperiodically updated to reflect other changesto the user's status. For example, if the customization policy reflectsthe user's status as a minor or child, the policy may be updated afterthe user becomes an adult (e.g., 18 or older). In an embodiment, apolicy maker may broadcast one or more customization policies to clientrendering devices, perhaps to update customization policies alreadystored on such devices.

As described above in connection with FIGS. 6 and 7 , devices forrendering 360-degree videos and/or VR content may be configured tocustomize content by altering media samples, segments, media chunks,spatial regions, viewports, and the like based on classifications orrating information defined in metadata and based on profiles and/orpreferences of the devices' users. The content may be altered in anymanner that ensures users view content that complies with, or does notviolate, their respective profiles and/or preferences.

For example, a rendering device, such as the HMD610 a shown in FIG. 6 ,may receive a 360-degree video and metadata associated with the video.The metadata may include classification information related to the360-degree video, such as information related to one or more spatialregions of the video. The classification information may include contentratings, which may indicate the type of audience that is suited (or notsuited) for a portion of the 360-degree video. For example, as describedabove, the content ratings may define audiences in terms of their ages.The HMO 610 a may also store information indicative of a user's profileor preferences in memory. Information in the profile or preferences mayindicate the type of audience to which the respective user may belong.For example, the user's profile or preferences may indicate the user'sage.

During the process (or in anticipation) of rendering the video, aprocessor of the HMO 610 a may detect a movement of the user via one ormore sensors. The processor may determine that the user movement isassociated with a rendering of a spatial region of the 360-degree video.The processor may determine whether the classification information inthe metadata complies with the user preference stored in memory for thespatial region. The processor may alter the rendering of the spatialregion if the classification violates the user preference. For example,if the user movement indicates that the user intends to turn to theright (e.g., by turning her head to the right), the processor may notrespond to the user movement by refraining from rendering the spatialregion. In particular, the processor may not move or transition thedisplay from a currently rendered spatial region to the spatial regionthat violates the user preference. Audio associated with the respectivespatial region may be muted or “bleeped out,” e.g., if the audioviolates the user preference.

When the processor determines that the rendering of the respectivespatial region of the 360-degree video violates the user preference, theprocessor may move or transition the display to the respective spatialregion of the 360-degree video but may obfuscate (e.g., “black out”,cover, blur, distort, etc.) the region. The processor may obfuscate theentire respective spatial region and/or specific features, images, orscenes within the region. Audio associated with the respective spatialregion may be muted or “bleeped out,” e.g., if the audio violates theuser preference.

Rating metadata of the respective spatial region may include alternativevisual information (e.g., regions) and/or audio objects. As such, whenthe processor determines that the rendering of the respective spatialregion of the 360-degree video violates the user preference, theprocessor may use the alternative visual information and/or audioobjects to replace the relevant content of the respective spatialregion. The alternative content may be a separate media track and/oranother spatial region of the 360-degree video. The alternative visualinformation and/or audio objects may be determined by a content produceror director, perhaps to maintain a continuous storyline of the360-degree video. DataEntryUmBox or RegionOnSphereSample may be used toindicate an alternative content source.

The processor may scan the 360-degree video to identify alternativevisual information and/or audio objects that comply with the userpreference. If more than one alternative is available, the device mayselect alternative visual information and/or audio objects closest intime and/or space to the respective spatial region that does not complywith the user preference. This may facilitate the continuity of thevideo and/or prevent or minimize sudden changes in scenes. The processormay reset the orientation coordinates to align the user's head motionwith the alternative visual information being presented. For example, ifthe user turns her head 10-degrees to the left (towards the respectivespatial region) and the alternative visual information is located60-degrees to the left, the processor may reset the user's motionorientation coordinate to 60-degrees so that the head motion matches thespatial region of the alternative visual information being presentation.In the event no alternative visual information and/or audio objects canbe identified, the processor may fast forward (e.g., advance or skipover) the respective spatial region until the alternative visualinformation and/or audio objects may be identified.

A device may switch the presentation (e.g., temporarily) from 360-degreevideo to rectilinear video if, for example, the device detects that theuser's head motion may turn to a viewport that violates a customizationpolicy. The 360-degree video may proceed according to a pre-definedsequence of viewports. The pre-defined sequence of viewports may beidentified by the content producer in the rating metadata. Thepre-defined sequence of viewports may also be determined by theprocessor of the rendering device by evaluating the rating informationassigned to the viewports and selecting the sequence that complies withthe user's profile and/or preferences. This may be enforced for acertain duration, perhaps depending on the offensive content's timeline(e.g. until the offensive content has passed).

The 360-degree video may be two-dimensional (2D), with one or morescenes or viewports having a perceived width and height. The 360-degreevideo may be three-dimensional (3D), with one or more scenes orviewports having a perceived width, height and depth. For example, the360-degree video may be presented using stereoscopy or stereo imagingtechniques in which two 2D images are offset and presented separately tothe left and right eyes of the viewer. The 360-degree may be rendered ona 3D display (e.g., a volumetric display, a holographic display, anintegral imaging display, or a compressive light field display). In thecase of the 360-degree video being presented in 3D, the processor maychange the presentation from 3D to 2D if the processor determines thatthe rendering of the respective spatial region of the 360-degree videoviolates the user preference. By changing to a 2D presentation, thegraphic nature of the content deemed unsuitable for selected audiencesmay be deemphasized or reduced. For example, a violent scene may beperceived as less authentic or real when viewed in 2D versus 3D, whichmay make the content more suitable in view of the user preference.

When the processor determines that the rendering of the respectivespatial region of the 360-degree video violates the user preference, theprocessor may zoom out on the respective spatial region to deemphasizeany content in the respective spatial region that may be violative ofthe user preference. FIG. 8 illustrates example spatial regions 802,804. The content of the spatial region 802 may be deemed unsuitable forcertain audiences in view of the graphic nature of the content. As such,rating information associated with the spatial region 802 may not complywith the user preference. By zooming out on the spatial region 802, theprocessor may render the spatial region 804, which may deemphasize orreduce the graphic nature of the content deemed unsuitable for selectedaudiences. Accordingly, the spatial region 804 may comply with the userpreference.

The content of a spatial region that is deemed unsuitable for certainaudiences may be located at the periphery of the spatial region. Thus,when the processor determines that the rendering of the respectivespatial region of the 360-degree video violates the user preference, theprocessor may zoom in on the respective spatial region such that theunsuitable content is no longer within the spatial region that is beingrendered to the user.

The processor may pre-fetch metadata along a 360-degree video's timelineto predict when unsuitable content may appear in a user's currentviewport. If the processor detects that unsuitable content may appear,the processor may switch the user's viewport. This may avoid thepredicted offensive content without the user turning her head. Theprocessor may use a 4-dimensional map (e.g., a 3-D sphere along the timedomain) to mark or label unsuitable content, and the unsuitable contentmay be blacked out or restricted.

The processor may present an alert, cue, or signal when it determinesthat the user's head motion may be approaching unsuitable contentregions and/or when unsuitable content may appear in the currentviewport. The alert, cur, or signal may be visual and/or audio, and maywarn the user and/or indicate that the viewport may be changed. Bydetecting and/or identifying the viewport(s) with unsuitable contentahead of time, the processor may facilitate a smooth transition from oneviewport to another while avoiding the unsuitable content.

The processor may enforce a default customization policy. This may bedone if, for example, a user profile or user preference is notavailable.

The processor may highlight alternative viewports and/or insert cues orsignals into the 360-degree video to attract the user to an alternativeviewport. This may encourage the user to avoid the unsuitable content.The highlighted alternative viewports may attract the user's attentiontowards viewports that comply with the user preference.

A client may present content (e.g., dynamically present content) basedon a user's viewing preference. The client's user interface (UI) mayprovide users with the option to indicate the user's content viewingpreference (e.g., less intense or more intense rated content). When theuser indicates a preference for intense content, the client may renderthe intense content in slow motion and/or may enhance the quality ofregions with intense content. For example, the client may enhance thequality of regions with intense content by scaling up the region to fillthe entire viewport, and/or motion tracking the intense content for thepresentation (e.g., regardless of user's viewing orientation).Dynamically presenting content based on a user's viewing preferences maybe applicable, for example, in VR gaming. For example, a VR game may berated “teen” by default (e.g., the most intense content in the game maybe rated suitable for teenagers). If the user selects to go up to a“mature” rating, the client may present a “teen”-rated viewport with ahigher level (e.g., “mature” level) of violence.

A client device may include any device that supports VR functionality,including, for example, orientation detection. The device may be a VRdevice, such as an HMO. The device may include a WTRU as describedherein with respect to FIGS. 11A-11D. A customization policy may switcha user to media samples or regions for emergency events such as amberalerts, disaster alerts and/or traffic accident alerts to users inparticular locations.

A network node (e.g., a streaming server, a content delivery node (CON),edge server, etc.) may customize video content prior to delivering thevideo content, which may include sensitive content, to end users.Customization of video content prior to content delivery may beapplicable, for example, in VR streaming to multiple countries/regions.For example, a country may have more restrictions on sensitive contentthan other countries. A gateway node located in the country having morerestrictions (e.g., the first server inside that country to receive thelive streaming content) may parse the rating metadata described hereinto determine the rating(s) associated with the content prior to deliveryof the content. The gateway node may remove and/or process restrictedcontent (e.g., those tracks or segments that include restricted viewportcontent) based on the parsed metadata prior to delivering the content(e.g., via broadcast and/or unicast) to the end users within thatcountry. A client that does not support classification and ratingmetadata may not render the sensitive tracks and/or user preferences maybe overridden to conform with the regional laws.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example architecture 900 for a social VRenvironment. As seen in FIG. 9 , a user of a master viewer 902 may viewa 360-degree video, which may be stored on a content server 904. Whenviewing the 360-degree video, the user may choose a sequence ofviewports within the video based on movements detected by the masterviewer 902, thereby producing a customized video. The sequence ofviewports chosen by the user of the master viewer 902 may be recordedfor playback on the master viewer 902 and/or by users of slave viewers908, 910, 912. The recorded sequence may be available for concurrentplayback and/or playback at a later time. Orientation data or viewportdata may be stored in a shared virtual experience server (SVES) 906.When viewing the sequence of viewports recorded by the master viewer902, the users of the slave viewers 908, 910, 912 may not need to makeany movements (e.g., change their head direction) as the slave viewers908, 910, 912 may automatically change the viewport(s) according to therecorded sequence.

The viewing preferences for the master viewer 902 and one or more of theslave viewers 908, 910, 912 may not be the same. The slave viewers 908,910, 912 may watch what the master viewer 902 is watching but, perhapsbased on respective user preferences, the slave viewers 908, 910, 912may alter the recorded sequence of viewports.

For example, FIG. 10 illustrates an example architecture 1000 for asocial VR environment that utilizes rating metadata. Like the masterviewer 902 shown in FIG. 9 , a user of a master viewer 1002 may view a360-degree video, which may be stored on a content server 1004. Whenviewing the 360-degree video, the user may choose a sequence ofviewports within the video based on movements detected by the masterviewer 1004. The sequence of viewports chosen by the user of the masterviewer 1002 may be recorded for playback on the master viewer 1002and/or by users of slave viewers 1008, 1010, 1012. The recorded sequencemay be available for concurrent playback and/or playback at a latertime. Orientation data or viewport data may be stored in a sharedvirtual experience server (SVES) 1006. When viewing the sequence ofviewports recorded by the master viewer 1002, the users of the slaveviewers 1008, 1010, 1012 may not need to make any movements (e.g.,change their head direction) as the slave viewers 1008, 1010, 1012 mayautomatically change the viewport(s) according to the recorded sequence.

In addition to recording a sequence of viewports, the master view 1002may generate and/or signal rating metadata that is associated with therecorded sequence. As shown in FIG. 10 , the master viewer 1002 may sendthe generated rating metadata to the SVES 1006, which may make therating metadata available to one or more of the slave viewers 1008,1010, 1012. The master viewer 1002 may forward the rating metadatadirectly to the slave viewers 1008, 1010, 1012. This may enable each ofthe slave viewers 1008, 1010, 1012 to configure or alter the playback ofthe 360-degree video in accordance with the respective users'preferences and/or customization policy.

One or more of the users of the slave viewers 1008, 1010, 1012 mayindicate their preferences in a profile, perhaps during registration orsession initialization with the SVES 1006. The SVES 1006 may analyze therecorded sequence from master viewer 1002 and classify segments, spatialregions, viewports, chunks, etc. based on a feature list (e.g., assignratings based on the content). The SVES 1006 may alter the rendering ofany of the segments, spatial regions, viewports, chunks, etc. in therecorded sequence if they violate the users' preferences. The users ofthe slave viewers 1008, 1010, 1012 may then view the recorded sequencevia the SVES 1006 in accordance with their respective user preferences.In addition, the SVES 1006 may send the classifications (e.g., ratingmetadata) to the slave viewers 1008, 1010, 1012, which may alter therendering in accordance with the respective user's preferences.

FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 1100in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. Thecommunications system 1100 may be a multiple access system that providescontent, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., tomultiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enablemultiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing ofsystem resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, thecommunications systems 1100 may employ one or more channel accessmethods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TOMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA),orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tailunique-word OFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM(UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier(FBMC), and the like.

As shown in FIG. 11A, the communications system 100 may include wirelesstransmiUreceive units (WTRUs) 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, 1102 d, a RAN1104/1113, a CN 1106/1115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN)1108, the Internet 1110, and other networks 1112, though it will beappreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number ofWTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of theWTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, 1102 d may be any type of deviceconfigured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. Byway of example, the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, 1102 d, any of whichmay be referred to as a “station” and/or a “STA”, may be configured totransmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include a userequipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, asubscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personalcomputer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet ofThings (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display(HMO), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g.remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g. a robotand/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or anautomated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, adevice operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, andthe like. Any of the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c and 1102 d may beinterchangeably referred to as a UE.

The communications systems 1100 may also include a base station 1114 aand/or a base station 1114 b. Each of the base stations 1114 a, 1114 bmay be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with atleast one of the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, 1102 d to facilitateaccess to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 1106/1115,the Internet 1110, and/or the other networks 1112. By way of example,the base stations 1114 a, 1114 b may be a base transceiver station(BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a NRNodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, andthe like. While the base stations 1114 a, 1114 b are each depicted as asingle element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 1114 a,1114 b may include any number of interconnected base stations and/ornetwork elements.

The base station 1114 a may be part of the RAN 1104/1113, which may alsoinclude other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such asa base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relaynodes, etc. The base station 1114 a and/or the base station 1114 b maybe configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals on one or morecarrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown).These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or acombination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may providecoverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that maybe relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may furtherbe divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with thebase station 1114 a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in oneembodiment, the base station 1114 a may include three transceivers,i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the basestation 1114 a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO)technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of thecell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and/or receivesignals in desired spatial directions.

The base stations 1114 a, 1114 b may communicate with one or more of theWTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, 1102 d over an air interface 1116, whichmay be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g. radio frequency(RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR),ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 1116 may beestablished using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 1100 may bea multiple access system and may employ one or more channel accessschemes, such as CDMA, TOMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. Forexample, the base station 1114 a in the RAN 1104/1113 and the WTRUs 1102a, 1102 b, 1102 c may implement a radio technology such as UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA),which may establish the air interface 1115/1116/1117 using wideband CDMA(WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-SpeedPacket Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may includeHigh-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed ULPacket Access (HSUPA).

In an embodiment, the base station 1114 a and the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b,1102 c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UNITSTerrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface1116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and/orLTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

In an embodiment, the base station 1114 a and the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b,1102 c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, whichmay establish the air interface 1116 using New Radio (NR).

In an embodiment, the base station 1114 a and the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b,1102 c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example,the base station 1114 a and the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c mayimplement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instanceusing dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interfaceutilized by WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c may be characterized bymultiple types of radio access technologies and/or transmissions sentto/from multiple types of base stations (e.g. an eNB and a gNB).

In other embodiments, the base station 1114 a and the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102b, 1102 c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e.,Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperabilityfor Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1×, CDMA2000 EV-DO,Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), InterimStandard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM),Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and thelike.

The base station 1114 b in FIG. 11A may be a wireless router, Home NodeB, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize anysuitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area,such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrialfacility, an air corridor (e.g. for use by drones), a roadway, and thelike. In one embodiment, the base station 1114 b and the WTRUs 1102 c,1102 d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establisha wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station1114 b and the WTRUs 1102 c, 1102 d may implement a radio technologysuch as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network(WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 1114 b and the WTRUs1102 c, 1102 d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g. WCDMA, CDMA2000,GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell orfemtocell. As shown in FIG. 11A, the base station 1114 b may have adirect connection to the Internet 1110. Thus, the base station 1114 bmay not be required to access the Internet 1110 via the CN 1106/1115.

The RAN 1104/1113 may be in communication with the CN 1106/1115, whichmay be any type of network configured to provide voice, data,applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to oneor more of the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, 1102 d. The data may havevarying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differingthroughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerancerequirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements,mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 1106/1115 may provide callcontrol, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paidcalling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or performhigh-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although notshown in FIG. 11A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 1104/1113 and/orthe CN 1106/1115 may be in direct or indirect communication with otherRANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 1104/1113 or a different RAT.For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 1104/1113, whichmay be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 1106/1115 may also be incommunication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

The CN 1106/1115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102b, 1102 c, 1102 d to access the PSTN 1108, the Internet 1110, and/or theother networks 1112. The PSTN 1108 may include circuit-switchedtelephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). TheInternet 1110 may include a global system of interconnected computernetworks and devices that use common communication protocols, such asthe transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP)and/or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite.The networks 1112 may include wired and/or wireless communicationsnetworks owned and/or operated by other service providers. For example,the networks 1112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs,which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 1104/1113 or a different RAT.

Some or all of the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, 1102 d in thecommunications system 1100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g. theWTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, 1102 d may include multiple transceiversfor communicating with different wireless networks over differentwireless links). For example, the WTRU 1102 c shown in FIG. 11A may beconfigured to communicate with the base station 1114 a, which may employa cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 1114 b,which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

FIG. 11B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 1102. As shownin FIG. 11B, the WTRU 1102 may include a processor 1118, a transceiver1120, a transmit/receive element 1122, a speaker/microphone 1124, akeypad 1126, a display/touchpad 1128, non-removable memory 1130,removable memory 1132, a power source 1134, a global positioning system(GPS) chipset 1136, and/or other peripherals 1138, among others. It willbe appreciated that the WTRU 1102 may include any sub-combination of theforegoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

The processor 1118 may be a general-purpose processor, a special purposeprocessor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in associationwith a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine,and the like. The processor 1118 may perform signal coding, dataprocessing, power control, inpuUoutput processing, and/or any otherfunctionality that enables the WTRU 1102 to operate in a wirelessenvironment. The processor 1118 may be coupled to the transceiver 1120,which may be coupled to the transmiUreceive element 1122. While FIG. 11Bdepicts the processor 1118 and the transceiver 1120 as separatecomponents, it will be appreciated that the processor 1118 and thetransceiver 1120 may be integrated together in an electronic package orchip.

The transmiUreceive element 1122 may be configured to transmit signalsto, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g. the base station 1114a) over the air interface 1116. For example, in one embodiment, thetransmiUreceive element 1122 may be an antenna configured to transmitand/or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmiUreceive element1122 may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/or receiveIR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet anotherembodiment, the transmiUreceive element 1122 may be configured totransmit and/or receive both RF and light signals. It will beappreciated that the transmiUreceive element 1122 may be configured totransmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals.

Although the transmiUreceive element 1122 is depicted in FIG. 11B as asingle element, the WTRU 1102 may include any number of transmiUreceiveelements 1122. More specifically, the WTRU 1102 may employ MIMOtechnology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 1102 may include two ormore transmiUreceive elements 1122 (e.g. multiple antennas) fortransmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 1116.

The transceiver 1120 may be configured to modulate the signals that areto be transmitted by the transmiUreceive element 1122 and to demodulatethe signals that are received by the transmiUreceive element 1122. Asnoted above, the WTRU 1102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, thetransceiver 1120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU1102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, forexample.

The processor 1118 of the WTRU 1102 may be coupled to, and may receiveuser input data from, the speaker/microphone 1124, the keypad 1126,and/or the display/touchpad 1128 (e.g. a liquid crystal display (LCD)display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLEO) display unit). Theprocessor 1118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 1124,the keypad 1126, and/or the display/touchpad 1128. In addition, theprocessor 1118 may access information from, and store data in, any typeof suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 1130 and/or theremovable memory 1132. The non-removable memory 1130 may includerandom-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or anyother type of memory storage device. The removable memory 1132 mayinclude a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, asecure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, theprocessor 1118 may access information from, and store data in, memorythat is not physically located on the WTRU 1102, such as on a server ora home computer (not shown).

The processor 1118 may receive power from the power source 1134, and maybe configured to distribute and/or control the power to the othercomponents in the WTRU 1102. The power source 1134 may be any suitabledevice for powering the WTRU 1102. For example, the power source 1134may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g. nickel-cadmium (NiCd),nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion),etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

The processor 1118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 1136, whichmay be configured to provide location information (e.g. longitude andlatitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 1102. In additionto, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 1136, the WTRU1102 may receive location information over the air interface 1116 from abase station (e.g. base stations 1114 a, 1114 b) and/or determine itslocation based on the timing of the signals being received from two ormore nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 1102 mayacquire location information by way of any suitablelocation-determination method while remaining consistent with anembodiment.

The processor 1118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 1138,which may include one or more software and/or hardware modules thatprovide additional features, functionality and/or wired or wirelessconnectivity. For example, the peripherals 1138 may include anaccelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera(for photographs and/or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, avibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, aBluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digitalmusic player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internetbrowser, a Virtual Reality and/or Augmented Reality (VR/AR) device, anactivity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 1138 may include one ormore sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, anaccelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientationsensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; ageolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, amagnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and/ora humidity sensor.

The WTRU 1102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission andreception of some or all of the signals (e.g. associated with particularsubframes for both the UL (e.g. for transmission) and downlink (e.g. forreception) may be concurrent and/or simultaneous. The full duplex radiomay include an interference management unit to reduce and orsubstantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g. achoke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g. a separate processor(not shown) or via processor 1118). In an embodiment, the WRTU 1102 mayinclude a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of someor all of the signals (e.g. associated with particular subframes foreither the UL (e.g. for transmission) or the downlink (e.g. forreception).

FIG. 11C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 1104 and the CN 1106according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 1104 may employ anE-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b,1102 c over the air interface 1116. The RAN 1104 may also be incommunication with the CN 1106.

The RAN 1104 may include eNode-Bs 1160 a, 1160 b, 1160 c, though it willbe appreciated that the RAN 1104 may include any number of eNode-Bswhile remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 1160 a, 1160b, 1160 c may each include one or more transceivers for communicatingwith the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c over the air interface 1116. Inone embodiment, the eNode-Bs 1160 a, 1160 b, 1160 c may implement MIMOtechnology. Thus, the eNode-B 160 a, for example, may use multipleantennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wirelesssignals from, the WTRU 1102 a.

Each of the eNode-Bs 1160 a, 1160 b, 1160 c may be associated with aparticular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radioresource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of usersin the UL and/or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 11C, the eNode-Bs1160 a, 1160 b, 1160 c may communicate with one another over an X2interface.

The CN 1106 shown in FIG. 11C may include a mobility management entity(MME) 1162, a serving gateway (SGW) 1164, and a packet data network(PON) gateway (or PGW) 1166. While each of the foregoing elements aredepicted as part of the CN 1106, it will be appreciated that any ofthese elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than theCN operator.

The MME 1162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 1162 a, 1162 b,1162 c in the RAN 1104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a controlnode. For example, the MME 1162 may be responsible for authenticatingusers of the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, beareractivation/deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway duringan initial attach of the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, and the like. TheMME 1162 may provide a control plane function for switching between theRAN 1104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radiotechnologies, such as GSM and/or WCDMA.

The SGW 1164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 1160 a, 1160 b,1160 c in the RAN 1104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 1164 may generallyroute and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b,1102 c. The SGW 1164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring userplanes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data isavailable for the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, managing and storingcontexts of the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, and the like.

The SGW 1164 may be connected to the PGW 1166, which may provide theWTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c with access to packet-switched networks,such as the Internet 1110, to facilitate communications between theWTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c and IP-enabled devices.

The CN 1106 may facilitate communications with other networks. Forexample, the CN 1106 may provide the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c withaccess to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 1108, tofacilitate communications between the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c andtraditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 1106may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g. an IPmultimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface betweenthe CN 1106 and the PSTN 1108. In addition, the CN 1106 may provide theWTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c with access to the other networks 1112,which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are ownedand/or operated by other service providers

Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 11A-11D as a wireless terminal,it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that sucha terminal may use (e.g. temporarily or permanently) wired communicationinterfaces with the communication network.

In representative embodiments, the other network 1112 may be a WLAN.

A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an AccessPoint (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated withthe AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a DistributionSystem (OS) or another type of wired/wireless network that carriestraffic in to and/or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originatesfrom outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered tothe STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSSmay be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations.Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, forexample, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP maydeliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAswithin a BSS may be considered and/or referred to as peer-to-peertraffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g. directlybetween) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS).In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS oran 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS)mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g. all of the STAs) within orusing the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS modeof communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” modeof communication.

When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similarmode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel,such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width(e.g. 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling.The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may beused by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certainrepresentative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with CollisionAvoidance (CSMNCA) may be implemented, for example in in 802.11 systems.For CSMNCA, the STAs (e.g. every STA), including the AP, may sense theprimary channel. If the primary channel is sensed/detected and/ordetermined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may backoff. One STA (e.g. only one station) may transmit at any given time in agiven BSS.

High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel forcommunication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHzchannel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHzwide channel.

Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz,and/or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and/or 80 MHz, channels may beformed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may beformed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining twonon-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channelencoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide thedata into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing,and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. Thestreams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may betransmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA,the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may bereversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control(MAC).

Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. Thechannel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11n, and 802.11ac. 802.11afsupports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space(TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representativeembodiment, 802.11ah may support Meter Type Control/Machine-TypeCommunications, such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTCdevices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilitiesincluding support for (e.g. only support for) certain and/or limitedbandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery lifeabove a threshold (e.g. to maintain a very long battery life).

WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channelbandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include achannel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primarychannel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operatingbandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primarychannel may be set and/or limited by a STA, from among all STAs inoperating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operatingmode. In the example of 802.11ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz widefor STAs (e.g. MTC type devices) that support (e.g. only support) a 1MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and/or other channel bandwidth operating modes.Carrier sensing and/or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings maydepend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel isbusy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operatingmode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands maybe considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remainsidle and may be available.

In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be usedby 802.11ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the availablefrequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the availablefrequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidthavailable for 802.11ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

FIG. 11D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 1113 and the CN 1115according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 1113 may employ anNR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 cover the air interface 1116. The RAN 1113 may also be in communicationwith the CN 1115.

The RAN 1113 may include gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 c, though it will beappreciated that the RAN 1113 may include any number of gNBs whileremaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 cmay each include one or more transceivers for communicating with theWTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c over the air interface 1116. In oneembodiment, the gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 c may implement MIMOtechnology. For example, gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b may utilize beamforming totransmit signals to and/or receive signals from the gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b,1180 c. Thus, the gNB 180 a, for example, may use multiple antennas totransmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, theWTRU 1102 a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 c mayimplement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 1180 amay transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 1102 a (not shown).A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum whilethe remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In anembodiment, the gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 c may implement CoordinatedMulti-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 1102 a may receivecoordinated transmissions from gNB 1180 a and gNB 1180 b (and/or gNB 180c).

The WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c may communicate with gNBs 1180 a, 1180b, 1180 c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. Forexample, the OFDM symbol spacing and/or OFDM subcarrier spacing may varyfor different transmissions, different cells, and/or different portionsof the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 cmay communicate with gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 c using subframe ortransmission time intervals (TTls) of various or scalable lengths (e.g.containing varying number of OFDM symbols and/or lasting varying lengthsof absolute time).

The gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 c may be configured to communicate withthe WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c in a standalone configuration and/or anon-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c may communicate with gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 cwithout also accessing other RANs (e.g. such as eNode-Bs 1160 a, 1160 b,1160 c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 cmay utilize one or more of gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 c as a mobilityanchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b,1102 c may communicate with gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 c using signals inan unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 1102 a, 1102b, 1102 c may communicate with/connect to gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 cwhile also communicating with/connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs1160 a, 1160 b, 1160 c. For example, WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c mayimplement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 1180 a,1180 b, 1180 c and one or more eNode-Bs 1160 a, 1160 b, 1160 csubstantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration,eNode-Bs 1160 a, 1160 b, 1160 c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c and gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 c may provideadditional coverage and/or throughput for servicing WTRUs 1102 a, 1102b, 1102 c.

Each of the gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b, 1180 c may be associated with aparticular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radioresource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of usersin the UL and/or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity,interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towardsUser Plane Function (UPF) 1184 a, 1184 b, routing of control planeinformation towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 1182a, 1182 b and the like. As shown in FIG. 11D, the gNBs 1180 a, 1180 b,1180 c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

The CN 1115 shown in FIG. 11D may include at least one AMF 1182 a, 1182b, at least one UPF 1184 a, 1184 b, at least one Session ManagementFunction (SMF) 1183 a, 1183 b, and possibly a Data Network (ON) 1185 a,1185 b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of theCN 1115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be ownedand/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

The AMF 1182 a, 1182 b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 1180a, 1180 b, 1180 c in the RAN 1113 via an N2 interface and may serve as acontrol node. For example, the AMF 1182 a, 1182 b may be responsible forauthenticating users of the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c, support fornetwork slicing (e.g. handling of different POU sessions with differentrequirements), selecting a particular SMF 1183 a, 1183 b, management ofthe registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobilitymanagement, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 1182 a,1182 b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 cbased on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102c. For example, different network slices may be established fordifferent use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable lowlatency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobilebroadband (eMBB) access, services for machine type communication (MTC)access, and/or the like. The AMF 1162 may provide a control planefunction for switching between the RAN 1113 and other RANs (not shown)that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro,and/or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

The SMF 1183 a, 1183 b may be connected to an AMF 1182 a, 1182 b in theCN 1115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 1183 a, 1183 b may also beconnected to a UPF 1184 a, 1184 b in the CN 1115 via an N4 interface.The SMF 1183 a, 1183 b may select and control the UPF 1184 a, 1184 b andconfigure the routing of traffic through the UPF 1184 a, 1184 b. The SMF1183 a, 1183 b may perform other functions, such as managing andallocating UE IP address, managing POU sessions, controlling policyenforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and thelike. A POU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based,and the like.

The UPF 1184 a, 1184 b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 1180a, 1180 b, 1180 c in the RAN 1113 via an N3 interface, which may providethe WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c with access to packet-switchednetworks, such as the Internet 1110, to facilitate communicationsbetween the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF1184, 1184 b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwardingpackets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed POUsessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providingmobility anchoring, and the like.

The CN 1115 may facilitate communications with other networks. Forexample, the CN 1115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway(e.g. an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as aninterface between the CN 1115 and the PSTN 1108. In addition, the CN1115 may provide the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c with access to theother networks 1112, which may include other wired and/or wirelessnetworks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. Inone embodiment, the WTRUs 1102 a, 1102 b, 1102 c may be connected to alocal Data Network (ON) 1185 a, 1185 b through the UPF 1184 a, 1184 bvia the N3 interface to the UPF 1184 a, 1184 b and an N6 interfacebetween the UPF 1184 a, 1184 b and the ON 1185 a, 1185 b.

In view of FIGS. 11A-11D, and the corresponding description of FIGS.11A-11D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein withregard to one or more of: WTRU 1102 a-d, Base Station 1114 a-b, eNode-B1160 a-c, MME 1162, SGW 1164, PGW 1166, gNB 1180 a-c, AMF 1182 a-b, UPF1184 a-b, SMF 1183 a-b, ON 1185 a-b, and/or any other device(s)described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (notshown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured toemulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. Forexample, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and/orto simulate network and/or WTRU functions.

The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests ofother devices in a lab environment and/or in an operator networkenvironment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may performthe one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partiallyimplemented and/or deployed as part of a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network in order to test other devices within thecommunication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform theone or more, or all, functions while being temporarilyimplemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communicationnetwork. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another devicefor purposes of testing and/or may performing testing using over-the-airwireless communications.

The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, includingall, functions while not being implemented/deployed as part of a wiredand/or wireless communication network. For example, the emulationdevices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratoryand/or a non-deployed (e.g. testing) wired and/or wireless communicationnetwork in order to implement testing of one or more components. The oneor more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF couplingand/or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g. which may includeone or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmitand/or receive data.

The processes and techniques described herein may be implemented in acomputer program, software, and/or firmware incorporated in acomputer-readable medium for execution by a computer and/or processor.Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to,electronic signals (transmitted over wired and/or wireless connections)and/or computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readablestorage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM),a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductormemory devices, magnetic media such as, but not limited to, internalhard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and/or opticalmedia such as CD-ROM disks, and/or digital versatile disks (DVDs). Aprocessor in association with software may be used to implement a radiofrequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, terminal, base station, RNC,and/or any host computer.

What is claimed:
 1. A device for rendering a 360-degree media content,the device comprising: a receiver, configured to receive the 360-degreemedia content and metadata associated with the 360-degree media content,wherein the metadata include a classification of a first spatial regionfrom the 360-degree media content; a memory, configured to store a userpreference; a sensor, configured to detect a user movement indicative ofa user viewing direction; and a processor, configured to: determine thatthe user movement is associated with a rendering of the first spatialregion, determine whether the classification associated with the firstspatial region complies with the user preference, and if theclassification violates the user preference, determine a path forgradually shifting the content rendering from a currently renderedspatial region to a spatial region that complies with the userpreference, and render the content according to the determined path. 2.The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured torender the content by: zooming out of the first spatial region so thatcontent that violates the user preference is de-emphasized.
 3. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to renderthe content by: zooming in on the first spatial region so that contentthat violates the user preference is excluded from the rendering.
 4. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to renderthe content by: changing to a two-dimensional projection format or arectilinear projection format.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured to render the content by: changing anaspect of the first spatial region.
 6. The device of claim 1, whereinthe first spatial region comprises a viewport.
 7. The device of claim 1,wherein the classification includes a content rating of the firstspatial region.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the metadata isreceived as part of a media presentation description (MPD), a fileencapsulator, a timed metadata track, or a lookup table.
 9. A method forrendering a 360-degree media content, the method comprising: receivingthe 360-degree media content and metadata associated with the 360-degreemedia content, wherein the metadata include a classification of a firstspatial region from the 360-degree content; storing a user preference;detecting a user movement indicative of a user viewing direction;determining that the user movement is associated with a rendering of thefirst spatial region; determining whether the classification associatedwith the first spatial region complies with the user preference; and ifthe classification violates the user preference, determining a path forgradually shifting the content rendering from a currently renderedspatial region to a spatial region that complies with the userpreference; and rendering the content according to the determined path.10. The method of claim 9, wherein the rendering further comprises:zooming out of the first spatial region so that content that violatesthe user preference is de-emphasized.
 11. The method of claim 9, whereinthe rendering further comprises: zooming in on the first spatial regionso that content that violates the user preference is excluded from therendering.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the rendering furthercomprises: changing to a two-dimensional projection format or arectilinear projection format.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein therendering further comprises: changing an aspect of the first spatialregion.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the first spatial regioncomprises a viewport.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein theclassification includes a content rating of the first spatial region.16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructionsexecutable by at least one processor to perform a method for rendering a360-degree media content, the method comprising: receiving the360-degree media content and metadata associated with the 360-degreemedia content, wherein the metadata include a classification of a firstspatial region from the 360-degree content; storing a user preference;detecting a user movement indicative of a user viewing direction;determining that the user movement is associated with a rendering of thefirst spatial region; determining whether the classification associatedwith the first spatial region complies with the user preference; and ifthe classification violates the user preference, determining a path forgradually shifting the content rendering from a currently renderedspatial region to a spatial region that complies with the userpreference; and rendering the content according to the determined path.17. The medium of claim 16, wherein the rendering further comprises:zooming out of the first spatial region so that content that violatesthe user preference is de-emphasized.
 18. The medium of claim 16,wherein the rendering further comprises: zooming in on the first spatialregion so that content that violates the user preference is excludedfrom the rendering.
 19. The medium of claim 16, wherein the firstspatial region comprises a viewport.
 20. The medium of claim 16, whereinthe classification includes a content rating of the first spatialregion.